Bethany Potten: Bridging science and business

Bethany Potten’s career reflects the vast possibilities that emerge when scientific training meets industry practice and applications. After completing her Bachelor of Biotechnology (Honours) and submitting her PhD work as a Master’s thesis at The University of Queensland, Bethany stepped into a career that spans consultancy, industry engagement and mining. Bethany later pursued studies in Chartered Tax Accountancy and MBA programs to hone her business skills.

Her journey began while volunteering at AusBiotech networking events as a student. “I met people working in R&D tax and thought, “What is that?” she recalls. After nearly taking a role with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in their Agribusiness team, she elected to start in a role with KPMG’s R&D tax team. Bethany explained by saying: “The Australian Federal Government gives money (through a tax offset) to companies conducting R&D activities in Australia. It was truly fascinating work – one day we’d be at mushroom farms where the big supermarket chains are turning visually defective whole mushrooms into sliced mushrooms, the next at crocodile farms owned by luxury fashion brands trying to minimise damage to the pelts. You’re talking to both technical people and finance teams who often had never spoken directly to each other before.”

Her time with KPMG allowed Bethany to combine her love of science with her talent for communication and problem-solving. “Being a scientist helped people open up. My job was to take complex data and present it in a way that was useful and accessible for submissions.”

Translating skills beyond the lab

Bethany’s diverse background combined with her ability to bridge technical and commercial worlds was soon noticed. When her husband’s work led them to move to Emerald, Queensland, Bethany joined Kestrel Coal Resources as a business analyst based at the mine and acting as a key bridge between operations teams onsite and the finance team in Brisbane. “They saw my background in science, consulting, together with my MBA and thought I could help them streamline their capital project approval processes,” she says.

Her efforts yielded impressive results: “The first year we spent 80 per cent of the capital budget instead of 50 per cent. The second year it was 85 per cent.” Her communication skills were key – meeting with engineers and site staff, gathering information, and translating it into well-structured business cases. Her work eventually led to digitising the capital planning and approval process, a system still in use today.

Later, Bethany transitioned to Kestrel’s SAP implementation project, overseeing the integration of complex enterprise systems. “Again, it came back to communication – understanding how all the pieces of the business fit together and helping different teams navigate new systems.”

Communicating science to combat misinformation

Bethany believes her impact lies in simplifying data and improving communication.

“There’s so much wastage in science and business because information isn’t presented in a way that people can easily access. My goal is to reduce that inefficiency.”

She’s passionate about addressing misinformation surrounding science and technology, particularly in biotech. “I asked a panel at AusBiotech years ago what we were doing about misinformation around GMOs, and they just dismissed it. But that fear grew into anti-vaccine movements. We need people across industries who can confidently communicate science.”

Plants as tools: The future of biotech

Bethany first fell in love with biotech as a high school student attending a UQ plant science workshop. “They talked about using plants as tools – like creating vaccines through plants or genetically modifying Arabidopsis to turn purple near land mines. That was mind-blowing to me.”

Today, she sees tremendous promise in using plants to solve global challenges – like engineering crops to fix nitrogen naturally, reducing reliance on polluting fertilisers. She also highlights CRISPR and RNA technologies as game-changers: “They originated from plant science and are now transforming medicine and agriculture.”

Global experiences and mentorship at UQ

Bethany fondly recalls her time as a mentor for UQ’s Young Scholars Program and participating in FEAST. “Mentoring students and showing them the possibilities in science was so rewarding.”

A highlight of her UQ experience was receiving the inaugural UQ Trans-Pacific Fellowship, which allowed her to study at the University of Washington. “That exchange was incredible – it opened my eyes to new perspectives and gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities I might have otherwise overlooked.”

Advice for future biotech students

Bethany encourages students to “put yourself out there.” She suggests emailing labs to volunteer, even just for basic lab tasks, to gain experience and network.

“That’s one of the amazing things about the biotech program at UQ – you get opportunities to do real projects in labs and become part of a scientific community.”

She also advises students not to fear applying for opportunities: “I wasn’t top of my class, but I applied for things others didn’t and got them. You never know what doors will open.”

Ultimately, Bethany’s career is a testament to the versatility of a biotechnology degree and continuous learning. “Biotech is about more than lab work – it’s about applying scientific thinking across industries and using those skills to make a real difference.”